


Home is where the heart is and where the Orza Berries grow

by LordCheesecake



Series: Alien!Roman au [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Attempt at angst, Homesickness, Hurt/Comfort, Southern!Patton, alien!Roman, some homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 05:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15965447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordCheesecake/pseuds/LordCheesecake
Summary: Both Patton and Roman reminisce about the homes that they left; one willingly and one not.orRoman is homesick and Patton can understand. A bit more on Patton and Roman’s pasts





	Home is where the heart is and where the Orza Berries grow

**Author's Note:**

> Another addition to the Alien!Roman au! I promise a Logan story will be coming next, I just need to finalize the story! I hope you enjoy!

The warm sunshine of the dewy spring morning cast warm shadows through the thin curtain, setting the room aglow with a soft, white light. It was still early in the morning and despite the fact that he didn't have morning classes, the ever early riser, Patton was already beginning his day, slowly climbing out of bed and making his way to the mall window to the left of his small quarters, just beside his mattress.

Yawning drowsily, he stretched his arms high into the air, relishing the pop of his spine and the gentle pull of his muscles. The bizarre quiet of the normally bustling city was an odd but not unwelcome presence in the peaceful dawn as Patton grabbed his glasses from the window sill, replacing them onto the bridge of his nose as he finally fully opened his eyes.

Smiling softly, he carefully plucked the worn, wooden picture frame from its spot on his nights stand and stared fondly at the picture within. The photo was just as worn and old as the frame it sat in, with fraying edges and crease marks marring the once vibrant still, now faded with age. Patton lovingly traced the many faces on the image as well as dusting off the light film building at the edges, following a rather strict pattern as he went and began reciting his daily mantra.

"Today is a new day, today is a good day. Something amazing will happen today, no matter what comes our way." It was a short, repetitive poem that Patton wrote when he was only five, but despite how cheesy and corny it sounded, it acted as a sort of lifeline to his childhood and the home he'd had back in Kentucky. Had it already been six years...

Ignoring the sharp throbbing in his heart, Patton set the picture back on its stand and gave it a small wave as he exited his room.

Patton quietly shuffled out of his room and made his way to the kitchen, readying a large pot of coffee before he even attempted to wake Virgil or Logan from their slumber. The two men were the biggest night-owls Patton had ever met; staying up to the earliest of morning hours yelling at each other about 'mothmen' and 'the existence of a goatman,' or whatever. Patton wasn't exactly sure. All he knew was that their 'polite debates', as Logan put it, would leave them achingly tired and unwilling to rise for their classes.

Putting on the pot, Patton glanced to the couch, hoping to spot the long, alien friend that Virgil had picked up just two months ago, but was rather surprised when he found that the extraterrestrial wasn't there.

"Roman?" he whisper-yelled, looking around until he spotted the familiar looking spikes just barely seeable behind the glass door leading out to the tiny balcony of the apartment. Grabbing his favourite grey knit cardigan, he opened the sliding divider and slipped onto the cool stone of the patio.

"Morning, Ro!" he chirped, grinning from ear to ear at his alien roommate. "I'm surprised to see you up this early! How did you sleep?"

"Ah, excellent morning, Pe-uh-Patton!"

"Now, Kiddo. We've discussed this! It's rude to call others a pet!"

"I-I know!" he stuttered, looking rather flabbergasted at Patton's chiding voice. "It's just, on Chorviprion, we would have other folk help with chores and care for those in a household and I was taught that in English, those people would be called pets!"

"I'm no housekeeper, but at least I'm a keeper!" Roman tilted his head in confusion at Patton's words, still not completely grasping the art of the pun. "Look over there," Patton pointed down to the streets to a woman walking her dog. "That is a pet. I'm just a Patton!"

"Well, you are a very good Patton!" he proclaimed, trying his best at an Earth joke.

"So, why are you out here so early?"

"Me? I was just here admiring the small forest you have cultivated in your balcony!" he was, of course, referring to the makeshift garden that Patton and Virgil had begun at the end of summer last year, consisting of a few delicate flowers and many hardy succulents and cacti.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Yes, they remind me of a plant that we had back at home. The great Orza berry! Harvested on the festival of the seven moons, on the day that the great Sister Suns banished the last great Moon King to eternal darkness!" Picking up a small cactus, he pressed a finger to a fuzzy spine, jerking his hand back in pain. "Those who had the courage to stand up to the great Moon King would brave his punishment and eat the shell of the Orza, exposing the fruit within! Tell me, are these edible as well?"

"Um, I don't think so, bud. It would hurt though, huh? Eating something so sharp!"

"Oh, why that was what would be the fun of the festival! In the end, we would see who had the most spines stuck in their throat, and whoever had the most would be celebrated later that night as an honorary Sister Sun!" Roman let out a dreamy laugh, though Patton could hear a note of sadness in his words. "I miss Chorviprion."

"Oh, Roman," Patton murmured, placing a warm hand to the alien's shoulder. "I understand. Y'know, if you ever need to talk about it, you can talk to m-"

"Oh, please," he snarled, cutting Patton off and fixing him with a stony glare. "As if you understand how I feel. I left my home planet! The only home I'd ever known for a place that I'm unfamiliar with! And I have no clue if I'm accepted here!" his voice became quiet in a low, painful whisper. "I want to go home."

Patton wanted to feel sympathy for Roman. He longed to empathize and care and comfort as he always did. But the absolute nerve of Roman!

"How dare you accuse me of not understanding! You don't know anything about me, about what I've been through! How dare you say those things to me! Believe it or not, I understand you more than anyone. How could you." Roman looked like a kicked puppy as he looked up to Patton, eyes wide and started, but Patton couldn't see, his vision deterred by the fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Roman's words had reopened a sensitive wound in Patton's heart, setting him off on a volatile tie of the year.

Unable to stop himself, Patton bolted from the balcony, put on his shoes and stepped out of the house. He really needed some fresh air.

* * *

The soft sound of the TV playing from the living room greeted Patton's ears as he closed the squeaky door behind him, setting down his many bags along with it. Everything was rather blurry after he stormed off, but once he came to his senses, he'd frantically called Logan and Virgil, vehemently apologizing for making them late. Fortunately, Patton had both his wallet and phone on his person, so he decided to spend his time out of the house productively, buying groceries and a few other things in an effort to make amends with Roman.

"I'm home," he called, hearing the TV switch off immediately and heavy footfalls rush to the entrance.

"Patton! I am so incredibly sorry. I- I wasn't thinking about your feelings an-"

"Calm down," Patton said, removing his shoes. "Help me move those bags into the kitchen and start loading them into the fridge, alright?" Roman looked as if he wanted to protest but kept his mouth shut and followed Patton's instructions.

"Um, I fed your tiny plants some water. Though they weren't all that thirsty... Oh! I tried waking Logan and the small angry one, but I gave u after a while," he rambled, fiddling with his fingers as he stood awkwardly in the corner, looking like a child about to be scolded.

"Thank you very much, Ro," Paton said warmly, shutting the freezer and grabbing the last bag. "Now," he pulled out a small bag of flour and several packets of chocolate chips. "You're going to help me make some cookies!" Roman looked utterly lost as Patton busied himself by cleaning the counter and readying several bowls.

"Cookies?"

"Yeah! They're these amazing circles of deliciousness."

"Circles of deliciousness?"

"I didn't know there was an echo in here? Come on, I need you to grab the butter." Slowly but surely, Roman began to come out of his shell and go back to his normal self, watching intently at what Patton was doing and copying his movements.

Patton couldn't help but giggle at the look of utter concentration on Roman's face as he attempted to crack an egg, tongue sticking out and glowing eyes fixated on the white shell in his hands.

"Relax a bit more! Don't go having an egg-istential crisis on me!"

"Now is no time for your Earth egg jokes!" he cried, looking rather frazzled as he lightly tapped the edge of the bowl. Roman let out a panicked noise as the egg began to crack. "Patton! What now! What now!"

"Keep going! You're almost there," Patton encouraged, watching as Roman hesitantly broke through the shell and nearly flung the egg out of his hands as the whites began spilling onto his fingers.

"It feels weird!"

"It's supposed to feel that way. You can do it!"

The triumphant look on Roman's face as the shell finally split (albeit a little messily) warmed Patton's heart, whisking him back to the faint memories of a loving childhood. "Uh, Patton, your face looks strange."

"Oh! Sorry. I was just remembering something."

"What memory are you recalling?"

"The first time I cracked an egg."

"Ah. I see! Who was your mentor! I must meet them."

"I doubt you'll ever see her, kiddo." Roman shot Patton a curious glance, looking as if he wanted to know more, but didn't press him for details when he fell silent.

The almost awkward silence persisted as they continued, blanketing the once tranquil moment in a thick blanket of uncharacteristic quiet from the two men. It was only when the cookies were in the oven that Patton broke the silence.

"You know, I used to bake these all the time with my mama. We could spend all day in the kitchen just cooking and cooking, and at the end of the day, we'd go door to door handing out sweets to the kids in our neighbourhood."

"That sounds like fun."

Patton hummed in agreement. "What I would give to bake cookies with my mama again."

"Why can't you see her again?" It was an innocent question, but once the words exited Roman's mouth, the alien was instantly regretting it. "AH, unless you don't want to answer, that's fine too! I mean, there are some things I won't tell Logan, y'know! Like that one time, he asked if I had a pe-"

"It's fine, Ro," Patton cut in. "I can't see her because they kicked me out."

Roman gasped. "They kicked you! Were you injured as a result?"

"No, no! Not literally kicked!" he giggled, glad that Roman's curious disposition was there to alleviate the heavy air. "They told me I couldn't stay with them anymore. That they didn't want me to be a part of their family anymore."

"How horrific! Did you commit high treason and bring dishonour onto your family?" Ah, so that was what he was watching before he got home.

"No, nothing like that. Though, I guess they thought I was committing sin. Roman, they kicked me out because I was gay."

"They made you leave because you were happy?"

"No-it, er. They made me leave because I am attracted to guys," Patton looked to Roman to make sure the alien could understand what he was saying. "I came from a really conservative but ever loving household, so when I realized that I liked boys, I thought I could tell them and that they would accept me. I told my mama when we were baking, just like this, but she got real mad and tried to burn me with a hot pan." Lifting his shirt a smidge, he revealed a small scar to a reeling Roman. "She told me that it was against nature and that I was a freak. That I needed to get out of her house and that I was no longer her son."

Removing his glasses, Patton wiped his teary eyes. "So I left willingly, and luckily, I ended up being taken in by a lovely family that didn't care about who I was and paid for me to go to University in New York. So, Roman, I understand what it feels like to be away from family. To feel light years away from them when you just want to give them a hug. One last time." A loud sniff from Roman pulled Patton's attention to the alien, who was sobbing messily.

"Patton!" he wailed. "I'm sorry! I should have never said those things to you!" charging into Patton's arms, he nearly bowled over the smaller man, bawling tearfully into his cardigan. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok," Patton murmured, brushing a hand along Roman's spiked back. "I may be far away from my family, but you, Logan and Virgil? You guys are my home! And home is what you make of it!" Nodding tearfully, Roman squeezed Patton tighter, drawing him closer to his body.

"...You are my home, too. I'm glad that we're...family" Roman whispered, making the tears in Patton's eyes spill over onto his cheeks. Closing his eyes tightly, he smiled, feeling the weight of his past lifting briefly from his shoulders.

"I'm glad that we're family."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated


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